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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23826889">Rise of the Guardians To Keep This Secret of Love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyoFrost/pseuds/RyoFrost'>RyoFrost</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rise of the Guardians (2012)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Crush, F/M, Love, Romance, invisible, secret</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:54:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,376</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23826889</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyoFrost/pseuds/RyoFrost</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack falls for a human woman and is fearful if it's even legal. No one has ever told him, nor has he ever heard if it's against policy rules of Sprites to fall for mortals. Jack is determined to hide this romance from the other Guardians. Will be rated M later for certain chapters.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jack Frost/Isabelle Wilson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Chapter 1:</strong>
</p><p> It’s been a year since Jack Frost became a Guardian. He was, as usual, in his hometown of Burgess, Pennsylvania giving out the first snow of the fall season and visiting with the kids that helped save the belief in his Guardian companions.</p><p>He was sitting atop the fence of Jaime’s front yard talking with the kids when he saw a moving truck pull-up next-door. He watched to see who the newcomers were and saw that the people who got out of the truck were just the employees of the moving company. Then he saw an SUV pull up next to it in the driveway.</p><p>Jack saw only one person get out of the vehicle; it was a beautiful young woman. She had long, light brown hair and blue eyes. She was almost as skinny as him. She looked to be in her early twenties.</p><p>He became so fixated on the woman that he forgot that the kids were still talking to him.</p><p>“Jack,” Jaime said, trying to get his attention.</p><p>Jack was still in another world; his eyes were wide with wonder and lust. He was whispering to himself, “She’s gorgeous. I wish she could see me so I could talk to her.”</p><p>“Jack,” Jaime once again called out.</p><p>Still nothing.</p><p>A snowball hit Jack’s side, causing him to lose his balance and fall off the fence. “Whoa!” He was able to stop himself from hitting the ground with his levitating ability.</p><p>Jack floated to where he could see over the fence at the kids; he had a surprised look on his face.</p><p>“Are you okay,” Pippa asked with concern?</p><p>“I’m fine,” he answered, setting foot back in the yard.</p><p>“You weren’t listening to what we were saying,” Jaime complained.</p><p>“Yeah, you were like spaced out or something,” Claude agreed.</p><p>Jack swallowed; he wasn’t going to say any more than what he was about to. “You have a new neighbor moving in across the street,” he told Jaime.</p><p>“Really? It’s about time! That house was empty for like two and a half years.” Jaime and his friends all walked out of the front yard to see the newcomer.</p><p>Jaime continued to speak, “They say the house is haunted. No one ever stays there too long.”</p><p>“Haunted? Yeah right,” Caleb said with a laugh! The other kids laughed as well.</p><p>“C’mon,” Jaime said! “It has to be real! If Jack Frost, the Easter Bunny, and other mystical beings are real, why can’t ghosts be?”</p><p>That was all Jack paid attention to, but it gave him an idea that he was going to put to use later. He let out a sigh of relief, happy that they didn’t proceed to ask why he tuned them out, and flew into the air, without them noticing, to get a closer look at the woman.</p><p>Jack hid in a tree that was in the woman’s front yard; The tree had yet to lose all its leaves. He did that just to hide from the kids so they wouldn’t see him swoon over the beauty.</p><p>He saw how she carried herself. She had a don’t-take-crap-from-anybody vibe. He watched the edges of her lips rise as she smiled up at her new house.</p><p>Everything he noticed about her so far, made him more infatuated with her.</p><p>He watched as she walked in and out of the house carrying things that weren’t too heavy while the movers took care of the big, bulky stuff.</p><p>Jaime and his friends only watched from across the street, so Jack stayed where he was so they wouldn’t ask why he was right in the middle of it, watching the new neighbor so closely.</p><p>Jack wanted to watch the woman for as long as he could, but he heard his name being called.</p><p>The kids were wondering where he went.</p><p>He looked toward their direction and saw that their backs were turned, which gave him the advantage to fly out of the tree unseen. But, before he was to leave, he took one more glance at the woman and unknowingly saw her bend over to pick up a box-her butt up in his direction.</p><p>His reaction was a quick surprise that turned into smitten. Jack smiled. He has never seen or met anyone more beautiful!</p><p>“Jack?” He heard multiple voices call out at once. He groaned, rolling his eyes.</p><p>He flew out of the tree toward the kids. What he didn’t pay attention to was his chilled wind rustling the leaves and the woman jumping at the sound and giving a confused look. He also, missed her scan the small area to see if anything came out of the tree.</p><p>The woman saw nothing and brushed it off, getting back to moving things into the house.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Chapter 2:</strong>
</p><p>Jack hung out with the kids for another twenty minutes. He was able to snowball fight and keep conversation with them, but in the back of his mind, all he could think of was the new neighbor.</p><p>Once he left Burgess, his mind was filled with thoughts of her as he traveled to other states, countries, and towns. There was no need for him to concentrate on giving different types of snow to everyone since he has done this for centuries. He could do it with his eyes closed.</p><p>Jack did rush things a bit, though. He wanted to go back to the woman’s house to see her beautiful face again.</p><p>Why was she doing this to him? He never had these feelings before, and he never fell this hard for anyone either. He didn’t even know this woman, and already he was having thoughts about her in ways he shouldn’t have been.</p><hr/><p>It was around seven at night when Jack got back to the tree in the woman’s front yard.</p><p>Curtains were already hanging up in the living room and one of the bedrooms, but not drawn all the way.</p><p>Jack flew down to the living room window and peeked inside. The woman sat on a blue, seven-seater couch in front of a TV. He was able to get a full glimpse of her. Her legs were up on the couch.</p><p>She was wearing pajamas. They consisted of dark grey pants with little pink stars throughout and a pink, elbow-length sleeve shirt that had a medium-dark grey star on the chest.</p><p>He didn’t know what she was watching, and he paid no mind to see what it was. He gave her his full attention.</p><p>Jack had yet to hear her voice but was able to hear her laughter.</p><p>His breath caught, and there was another feeling that he fought to avoid at this point in time.</p><p>He had to get her to see him, no matter how long it took.</p><p>Because Jack was beginning to feel certain things as he continued to watch and have thoughts of her, his emotions, which also control his powers, came into effect. It began to snow heavily, and frost covered the window faster than his usual normal giving’s.</p><p>“Really?” Jack asked, annoyed at the frost beginning to obscure his view.</p><p>Because it was a picture window, he was still able to see her for twenty more seconds until he was forced to back away.</p><p>Jack lived now at the North Pole and was sure North was wondering where he was but didn’t care. He decided to go back into the tree and sleep there.</p><p>When he settled onto a tree branch, Jack looked up at the moon and said aloud, “I know what you’re thinking, Manny. ‘Why is Jack falling for someone he can’t have?’” Then in his mind answered the question as he looked down at the frosted living room window, <em>I don’t know why I’ve fallen for her. But I’m not going to give up on her to see me.</em> He stood up and yelled to the moon, “And no one’s going to stop me from trying to get the girl!”</p><p>He was half expecting and half not for something to happen.</p><p>Why he was expecting anything, he didn’t know. Manny never paid him any mind, even since he became a Guardian.</p><hr/><p>Jack fell asleep around eleven and woke up at eight.</p><p>He saw that the living room window still had frost on it, but was lesser.</p><p>He flew to the bedroom window that had curtains and peeked inside. The woman was still asleep.</p><p>He began to realize that if anyone were to see him, they would consider him a creeper. He shook his head to get that thought out of his mind. He was <em>not </em>a creeper!</p><p>He was <em>just</em> a man in love.</p><p>He wasn’t a pervert either! He didn’t watch women undress.</p><p>Granted he thought about what her body may look like underneath all those clothes, but then, didn’t every man think this way when they’re crushing on a woman?</p><hr/><p>The woman didn’t awaken until an hour later, and Jack sat upon her roof until he saw her walk to her mailbox in a white and red robe.</p><p>Because she was brand new to the neighborhood, she decided to put her last name on the mailbox in permanent black marker.</p><p>Jack joined her; at least he would know part of her name. He stood next to her on her right as she began to write on the side of the mailbox.</p><p>She wrote thick letters, spelling out the word: <strong>Wilson.</strong></p><p><em>Wilson</em>, Jack read to himself. He looked at her with a smile and thought, <em>can’t wait to hear what your beautiful first name is</em>. <em>And I bet it matches your beauty.</em></p><p>The woman turned toward the street and gazed about the houses nearby, and spoke to no one in particular, “This is such a beautiful neighborhood. I’m so lucky to have found a house here.”</p><p>“It sure is,” Jack agreed, though he knew she couldn’t hear a word he said. “You’re really going to love it here.”</p><p>A short moment after, and she walked back toward the front door. As she walked closer, she noticed her living room window was frosted, and that the other windows weren’t. Snow blanketed part of the ground, but it wasn’t that cold for frost to be forming.</p><p>“Yeah, sorry about that,” Jack said apologetically, as the woman walked up to the frosted window.</p><p>She touched the frost; it was definitely real and not something that someone sprayed on.</p><p> “Okay, that’s just weird,” she said with a confused expression. Shaking her head, not knowing how to wrap her mind around it, she went back inside her home and closed the door: But not before Jack entered to begin trying to get her to see him; using Jaime’s belief that ghosts are haunting the place.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Chapter 3:</strong>
</p><p>When Jack entered the house, he finally didn’t just have his eyes on her, but the stuff she so quickly put up.</p><p>She wanted to make this a home, and fast!</p><p><em>She has good taste</em>, he thought to himself. What he saw was rustic modern. <em>She fits right into the history of this town</em>, he then thought, with a smile. </p><p>He followed her into the kitchen and watched as she poured water into a turquoise mug from her sink’s filtered water system.</p><p>She grabbed a teabag from a medium-small white jar, that had the word TEABAG written in gold on the front, and placed it on the island. He read what the flavor was: Earl Grey.</p><p>She placed the teacup in the microwave. And after only a minute thirty took it out, before getting the milk out of the refrigerator.</p><p>When she set the tea on the island, it gave Jack his first idea on how to start this haunting thing to get her, hopefully, to see him.</p><p>Jack touched the mug with his pinky, instantly turning the liquid ice cold.</p><p>The woman turned back toward the counter and wrapped her fingers around the mug to pull it closer to place the teabag inside. But as soon as she touched it, she instantly pulled her hand away, shocked.</p><p>“What the…,” she asked aloud to herself, confused?</p><p>She looked at the clear liquid and saw that it was frozen.</p><p>“How?” She stood flabbergasted; she knew, that when she took it out of the microwave, it was steaming hot.</p><p>“Sorry, beautiful,” Jack said, apologetically, “but it’s a start to try to get you to believe in me.”</p><p>Jack snickered when he watched her decide to give it another go in the microwave to test if it would happen again. She put it on for two minutes.</p><p>Once the water reheated, she watched to see if the water would freeze again.</p><p>As she watched, though, nothing happened.</p><p>She sighed.</p><p>She was getting a headache trying to come up with a solution that didn’t match anything she attained.</p><p>The woman sighed again and shook her head. She proceeded to make her tea.</p><p>When she turned her back again, only this time to put the milk away, Jack froze the liquid again.</p><p>She twirled around in time to see the frost materialize.</p><p>Her mouth hung open with all emotions scattering about her mind. “What? What’s going on?”</p><p>Jack sat on the island; he watched every muscle in her face contract.</p><p>“It’s going to take you a while to figure out how that happened, so don’t hurt yourself too much,” Jack said, as he leaned his head against his staff.</p><p>The woman picked up the mug and put it into the sink. “Guess I’m not having tea.” She turned on the hot water to melt the ice, only to watch the faucet and the stream of water freeze over.</p><p>She jumped back in surprise, at the same time instinctively turning the faucet off, “What’s going on? None of this should be happening!”</p><p>She looked out the kitchen window, hoping to see something similar happen elsewhere, or even to see people run out of their homes confused about their drinks freezing over.</p><p>But she didn’t see anything. Everything outside appeared normal.</p><p>“I don’t think I would be able to take a shower today,” she told herself, turning away from the window.</p><p>“That’s the one thing I won’t mess with,” Jack told her, though it was pointless. “I promise! I wouldn’t want you to slip and hurt yourself.” He reached out, only to imagine touching her face as his hand tingled and went through her.</p><p>He was saddened by that but kept the determination to continue to get her to see him.</p><p>No matter what.</p><p>Jack realized the woman moved toward the back-porch door to get some fresh air. He quickly followed.</p><p>They walked to the railing of the porch, and as she leaned down on it, she put her hand through her hair.</p><p>“Strange way to start my official first day here.”</p><p>“I don’t want to scare you, but I don’t know what else to do.” Jack jumped onto the railing and balanced on his tippy-toes as he bent his knees to still, somewhat, maintain being at her level. “I just hope you don’t become too scared.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Chapter 4:</strong>
</p><p>Jack decided to freeze things progressively at a time each day until he felt it necessary to increase the amount.</p><p>He waited until the next day to continue; The woman even decided to chance a shower.</p><p>As she showered, Jack occupied himself by taking a tour of the house.</p><p>There were three bedrooms. Jack left the master bedroom for last.</p><p>Her room had a bathroom in it, and he wanted to wait it out until she was finished and dressed.</p><p>After thirteen minutes, he heard the shower shut off, then waited another two minutes.</p><p>Jack stood outside her door. When he heard her walk closer to it, he frosted the doorknob.</p><p>He heard her gasp as she said, “What the hell? What, what is happening in this house?”</p><p>“Sorry, babe,” he told her, unheard. Then he proceeded to ice the door outside-in.</p><p>Now both sides of the door had ice starting from the top working its way down to the floor.</p><p>No, Jack didn’t freeze the door shut, for he made sure it didn’t touch the hinges or the frame.</p><p>At the last minute, though, he realized the handle was a bit slick to grip.</p><p>He heard her use a sort of fabric to grip at the handle.</p><p>The door opened, and Jack saw the same confused look that was accompanied by fear.</p><p>He was worried now.</p><p>Did he make the wrong choice to get her to believe in him?</p><p>Should he have thought of a less scary way to get her to notice him?</p><p>Did he lose his chance?</p><p>All of these questions were racing through his brain.</p><p>He knew it was too late to change what he started.</p><p>“Come on! Think! Think!” He tapped the curved end of his staff to his forehead a few times.</p><p>To not allow her to be terrified, the only thing he could come up with was showing off more of his abilities.</p><p>The woman ran to the front door, and Jack had his frost follow her and, this time, he froze the hinges.</p><p>To show he wasn’t going to harm her, he trapped her inside to explicate what he was trying to do.</p><p>And, again, he hoped this wasn’t another bad idea.</p><p>He decided to create intricate designs on the door.</p><p>She was still trying to yank the door free, so it was in her general direction for her to, obviously, notice.</p><p>Jack made swirls and other shapes into the design, including a few hearts.</p><p>She stepped back to watch the patterns appear.</p><p>These calmed her down only slightly, as she watched in wonder in how beautiful they were.</p><p>What she saw in the frost were snowflakes, diamonds, hearts, circles, and zigzags.</p><p>She put her hand up to one of the hearts. She didn’t touch it for fear of ruining it.</p><p>Out of nowhere, she asked, “Who are you? Why are you here? What do you want?”</p><p>He didn’t think or expect her to ask those questions now and so soon.</p><p>But, this gave him another idea that could save this; <em>wanting to be seen</em>!</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Chapter 5:</strong>
</p><p><em>I guess this haunting thing really isn’t my gig</em>, Jack thought to himself. <em>That’s the first and last time I try out the haunting job.</em></p><p>Jack directed her to the living room window with a frosted arrow on the wall.</p><p>She opened the curtains, and he frosted the window to begin writing.</p><p>He didn’t answer her questions straight away, instead wrote; <strong><em>I’m not going to hurt you. I will answer your questions. But please, don’t be afraid of me.</em></strong></p><p>“Did you used to live here and died in some kind of Winter accident?”</p><p>Jack took that question as a, “<em>Okay. I won’t be afraid,” </em>kind of phrase and answered, <strong><em>No, I never lived at this house.</em></strong> <strong><em>I fell into the pond when the ice was thinning.</em></strong></p><p>“Then why is your spirit here and not at the pond where you died?”</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>This will be hard for you to understand, but I’m not dead.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>Her face expressed confusion, and he continued to try and explain. </p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>My human self did die, per se. But I was resurrected as another being. </em>
  </strong>
</p><p>Jack had to continuously frost the window in order to continue writing.</p><p>“What kind of being are you?”</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>I am a Winter Sprite.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>“Can you tell me your name?”</p><p>He hoped she listened to Christmas music to understand that one phrase he was about to do.</p><p>And, no! Though the words implied, <em>nipping at your nose.</em> He never actually <em>nipped </em>at people.</p><p>He stood in front of her and blew light chill air at her nose.</p><p>“Come on.” Jack said in anticipation, “Guess what that was.”</p><p>“What was that,” she asked?</p><p>He was slightly put down by that but wrote her a clue: <strong><em>song</em>.</strong></p><p>“Song?” She thought for a moment.</p><p>Three other words went in front of <em>song:</em> <strong><em>part of a</em>.</strong></p><p>“Part of a song,” she read as she racked her brain.</p><p>“Yes,” he smiled.</p><p>She touched her nose, “Nipping.” She looked back at the frosted window, “Frost. Jack Frost?”</p><p>Jack smiled widely and wrote, <strong><em>That’s right</em>!</strong> He drew a smiley face.</p><p>“So, what are you doing here, Jack Frost?”</p><p>He was scared to answer that question. And he thought that it was best not to answer so soon.</p><p><strong><em>If it’s all right</em></strong>, he wrote, <strong><em>I would like to save that question for another day.</em></strong></p><p>“Um, okay,” she answered. “If that’s what you want.”</p><p><strong><em>It is</em></strong><strong>.<em> Sorry</em>.</strong> Another smiley face to show that he meant it, <strong><em>I promise that I will answer your question on a day that feels right to answer it.</em></strong></p><p>She smiled, “I’ll hold you to that.”</p><p>Jack was really happy that the woman was taking all this well. She definitely was no longer afraid, and that was what he hoped for.</p><p><strong><em>Can I ask you a question,</em></strong> he inscribed?</p><p>“Go ahead,” she nodded.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>What is your name?</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>“My name is Isabelle Wilson.”</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>That’s a beautiful name.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>“Thank you,” she again smiled, placing a strand of loose hair behind her ear.</p><p>Jack watched her. <em>Has anyone else ever told her how beautiful she is</em>, he wondered to himself?</p><p>That was a question he set aside to ask her in the future.</p><p>He had to snap out of it, for he realized she was asking him another question.</p><p>“Because you’re a Winter Sprite, does that mean you’ve been around since the beginning of time?”</p><p>Jack laughed and responded with, <strong><em>No. Nowhere close to Mother Nature’s age. I’ve been around for 319 years. But I’ve been a Sprite for 301.</em></strong></p><p>“Wow,” Isabelle responded!</p><p>He decided to ask another question. <strong><em>What made you decide to move here?</em></strong></p><p>“I just wanted to try someplace new. I moved from California.”</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>What do you do or plan to do for a living?</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>“I make jewelry, wall décor, and other small stuff. The business is doing really well. I work from home and hope to someday open my own store.”</p><p>Another smiley face, then he inscribed, <strong><em>I would like to see your work sometime.</em></strong></p><p>“Sure, I would like to show you whenever.”</p><p>This time Jack drew a heart around the smiley face.</p><p>“So, what other kinds of stuff can you do with your powers?”</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Tell me what your favorite animal is, and I’ll show you.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>“Okay. I like cats.”</p><p>Jack drew an outline of a cat. Then with his hands out toward the picture, he closed his eyes and imagined the cat coming to life.</p><p>It only took two seconds before the frosted cat jumped into his hands.</p><p>Isabelle stood in shock-wonder as the frosted cat ran in the air toward her.</p><p>“I have never seen anything this incredible. I never knew this to be possible.”</p><p>Jack’s face was of excitement. He always loved to see his living creations.</p><p>She was concentrating on the cat running around her head, but Jack wrote on the window anyway and figured she’d see it when she sees it.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Creating living, frosted figures, and snowball fighting are a couple of my favorite things to do as a Sprite.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>Jack went back to watching her. Seeing her beautiful smile made him daydream of what could be:</p><p>Someday.</p><p>A possible hope.</p><p>A new beginning.</p><p>Maybe a new life?</p><p>He may not be alone in the world anymore, but his heart felt that there was still something missing.</p><p>And him falling for her was the key to what he felt his heart was missing.</p><p>
  <strong>Love.</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>True love.</strong>
</p><p>Isabelle reached out to the frosted cat after twenty minutes, and it exploded into snow.</p><p>“Sorry,” she said.</p><p><strong><em>It’s okay</em></strong>, Jack wrote under his last paragraph. <strong><em>It has to happen sometime. </em></strong>Smiley face.</p><p>She smiled back.</p><p><strong><em>There’s more where that came from. </em></strong>Jack saw that she read the other part, so he erased it and drew six more cats. They played around Isabelle.</p><p>She laughed as one cat pounced on another. Compared to when a warm-blooded touches them, they don’t disintegrate when they touch each other.</p><p>Jack walked close to her and envisioned the cats running around him just so she could know where he stood by her.</p><p>“Jack?” She asked, looking in the new direction.</p><p>A gust of cold wind whirled around her, and she laughed.</p><p>“Thank you for no longer trying to scare me,” Isabelle told him, as the six cats were turned into snow.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>You’re welcome. And I’m sorry for doing that to you.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>“Apology accepted,” she said.</p><p>She put a hand out to the indoor snow as she continued to smile. “What more can you show me with these amazing powers of yours?”</p><p>A huge heart was drawn on the window.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Chapter 6:</strong>
</p><p>Two weeks passed, and Isabelle got to witness more of Jack’s powers, while Jack got to see what she did for a living.</p><p>Jack was just as mesmerized by her creations as she was of his. The way she designed the dreamcatcher horseshoes, for instance, was amazing. There could be competition between Sandy’s dreamsand and Isabelle’s dreamcatchers.</p><p>Isabelle did her work in the extra bedroom that was further from the master and slightly bigger than the third bedroom.</p><p>Jack was happy that Isabelle’s job was at home. He loved seeing her every day—</p><p>Yes, that’s right! Every day! He spent the whole two weeks with her…Well, sort of. She still couldn’t see or hear him, and he obviously slept on the couch.</p><p>He could sleep in the third bedroom, but he insisted on the couch. He had no need for a comforter.</p><p>Jack was sure that North still wondered where he was. But it was <em>his</em> life, and he didn’t need to check-in and babysat. But Jack knew that he would eventually need to leave so North, or any of the other Guardians for that matter, wouldn’t come looking for him and find out where he’s been all this time.</p><p>Jack being at Isabelle’s, was to be kept secret.</p><p>He hoped that Manny didn’t say a thing to them already.</p><p>It was hard to ascertain when, if they were told, they would pop in unannounced.</p><p>Would they wait until he was ready to tell them himself?</p><p>Or are they waiting for the right moment to pounce on him and get him to answer why he was making contact with someone who was supposed to be too old to believe in him, even see him?</p><p>Jack guessed that the reason Isabelle still couldn’t see him was that she didn’t have a childlike mind, so it was a struggle to see him even though all the evidence was in front of her.</p><p>But he wasn’t planning on giving up just yet.</p><p>How long would it take until she could see him? That was a mystery in and of itself.</p><hr/><p>Isabelle was happy that she made her first friend here in Burgess, even though they couldn’t hang out like normal people. But he was cool, funny, and a sweet guy. So she didn’t care.</p><p>She did still wonder why he chose her, of all people, to want to be friends with.</p><p>Was it because she was new to the town?</p><p>Was he lonely and thought her the best choice to befriend?</p><p>Did Jack see something in her that he liked?</p><p>Was he infatuated by her?</p><p>Isabelle smiled at that last ponderment. <em> He can’t be going through all this trouble just because he wants a friend in me</em>, she thought to herself.<em> It has to be more than that.</em> Her smile widened. <em>Does he have a crush on me? Wish I knew what he looks like.</em></p><p>She could understand why Jack hadn’t said the reason why he was there, and she was going to allow him to tell her when he was ready.</p><hr/><p>Jack stepped out for a bit to bring on some more snow. He returned through an opened window that Isabelle has been leaving unlocked for him in the third bedroom, which only consisted of a twin bed and a lone three drawer dresser.</p><p>He saw Isabelle on the living room couch drinking hot chocolate.</p><p>He walked closer and spotted her smiling, and wondered what about.</p><p>“What thought is causing that beautiful smile?” Jack walked closer and saw her smile widen.</p><p>He blew cold air toward her to inform her that he was back.</p><p>She shivered, but her smile seemed to widen even more when she looked toward the direction the chill wind emanated from.</p><p>“That was fast,” Isabelle told him as she looked in his direction at nothing.</p><p>As Jack walked over to her, frost followed at his feet to let her know where he was.</p><p>He was careful not to get the ground too iced, for he knew that inside enclosures could mean bad news.</p><p>Jack smiled, “I can’t get myself to stay away from you for too long.” He sat next to her on the couch and put his hand near her face as if to touch it.</p><hr/><p>Later that same day, Jack and Isabelle decided to go outside to build a couple of snowmen.</p><p>Isabelle began to pack the bottom layer of her snowman and glanced to her left to see that Jack was doing the same thing with his own.</p><p>She knew that he could build anything with a blink of an eye using his staff, but she knew he enjoyed doing things with her without the quickness of his powers.</p><p>Jack noticed her look his way and had a snowflake circle around her; she smiled as it landed on her nose.</p><hr/><p>Half an hour passed, and as they were getting close to finishing their snowmen, Isabelle felt something cold to her lower back.</p><p>Then another one hit her right shoulder blade.</p><p>Jack was throwing snowballs at her.</p><p>“No fair,” Isabelle said as she placed her hands on her hips. “How can I get you back when I can’t see you?”</p><p>Jack laughed and replied unheard, “I promise, that when you can see me, you can throw as many snowballs at me to make it even.”</p><p>He threw one more at her and received a snowball back at him.</p><p>But it missed a few inches from his face. He laughed again, “ooh, that was close. She’d make a good opponent.”</p><p>Isabelle threw another one, and this time, it hit its target. The snowball hit Jack squarely in the chest.</p><p>“Oof,” Jack lost his balance and fell into the snow. He had a surprised look on his face. It was rare for him to get hit by a snowball.</p><hr/><p>Isabelle was stunned; Her snowball hit Jack. She saw it smash in midflight and a shape of a person’s bottom form on the ground right after.</p><p>For some reason, she thought that the snowball would just go right through Jack because she made it, and she couldn’t see him. But, she realized that was ridiculous considering he was, of course, the Man of Winter.</p><p>She walked a little closer to the dent in the snow and asked, “Jack, are you okay?”</p><p>Jack wrote his answer in the snow, <strong><em>Yes, I’m fine. Just surprised.</em></strong></p><p>“Surprised,” she asked? “What do you mean?”</p><p>He wrote that it was a rarity for him to be hit by a snowball.</p><p>“Really?” She was sitting on her knees beside the writing now. “For 300 plus years, and it’s a rarity?” She chortled but raised a brow.</p><p><strong><em>Haha.</em></strong> He gathered a handful of snow and threw it at Isabelle.</p><p>“Hey,” She laughed!</p><p>Jack crawled closer to her; his right hand pushed deeper into the snow as he leaned toward her.</p><p>She watched as the handprint formed and placed her hand on top of it.</p><p>Jack smiled, liking the tingling sensation as her hand passed through. It was the closest he could come to feel her, in a sense.</p><p>He inched closer, his left hand now sinking into the snow beside her leg.</p><p>Isabelle repeated what she did with Jack’s right hand.</p><p>As she did, Jack put his lips near her nose and blew gently on it.</p><p>She closed her eyes as if it would help to feel Jack’s presence in more depth.</p><p>Jack watched her with soft and gentle eyes as he maintained that same smile.</p><p>But then, he realized that he had to make sure this all stayed under wraps from the other Guardians. He had to leave, eventually, to protect Isabelle if they didn’t like what Jack was trying to do.</p><p>He took a breath and let it out exasperatedly.</p><p>Jack wrote in the snow.</p><hr/><p>Snow, being shuffled, caught Isabelle’s attention to open her eyes.</p><p>She read the words to herself as they formed.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>I loved spending time with you this past couple of weeks. I do have to go back tomorrow to the North Pole before North, a.k.a. Santa gets really worried and sets his yetis on me.</em>
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</p><p>“Santa has yetis,” Isabelle asked?</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Sorry, should’ve told you about them. They’re his toymakers. Get this: The elves don’t make the toys!</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>“Wow! You learn something new every day.”</p><p>She would have been more cheerful in that comment but was saddened Jack had to leave the next day. She was used to him being there. “How long will you be gone? Will you return?”</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>I don’t know how long, but I will return. I didn’t spend these two weeks with you only to not return. </em>
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</p><p>Isabelle smiled then, “Good because I’ve been fighting this brain of mine to see you. Wouldn’t want it to work hard for nothing.”</p><p>Jack drew a heart then wrote, <strong><em>I’ll try to get back as soon as I can.</em></strong></p><p>“Another thing I’ll have to hold you to.”</p><p><em>When the time is right, you’ll no longer be in the dark, </em>Jack thought to himself, standing up now. He sent another snowflake her way.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>During the sad and awkward silence, Jack and Isabelle finished their snowmen, adding carrots for noses and different size black buttons for the mouths, eyes, and torsos.</p><p>Isabelle decided to break the silence, “It’s going to feel weird with you gone. I mean, you’ve been with me since the day I moved in. It’ll feel empty and I’ll miss your beautiful frost designs on the walls.”</p><p>Jack bent down and wrote in the snow. A smiley face with a tear under the left eye was drawn, then words were formed, <strong><em>I know. I got used to being around you too, I consider you my friend.</em></strong></p><p>Tears formed in Isabelle’s eyes. “I consider you my friend, too.” A tear fell and she turned, “Sorry, that’s embarrassing. I’ve never been the type to cry in front of people.”</p><p>A chill wind encompassed her like a hug.</p><p>Jack stepped in front of her, “you’re cute when you cry.” He put his hand to her cheek, once again envisioning being able to touch it.</p><p>Again he wrote in the snow; <strong><em>You don’t have to be afraid to cry in front of me.</em></strong></p><p>Isabelle gave a small smile, “Thank you, Jack.”</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>You should see my face right now.</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>“You feel the same way?”</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>Definitely.</em>
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</p><p>Her smile grew a little bigger, then she asked, “Jack, is there a way you can show me what you look like? That way I can get a chance to envision you before you have to leave tomorrow.”</p><p><strong><em>Sure. I can give it a try.</em></strong> Jack thought for a moment on what he could do. He looked at his staff and had an idea.</p><p>Just like he did with creating the frosted cats, Jack decided to make a frost of himself, but without using a window.</p><p><em>Never tried out my powers like this before, so let’s see what I got</em>, Jack thought to himself.</p><p>With control of his chill wind and wave of his staff, frost shaped the front of his body and his crook, getting every nook and cranny of him.</p><p>Then he moved on to doing the same for the back part of himself.</p><p>When he finished, he joined the two halves as one.</p><p>When Isabelle saw that Jack finished, she walked closer to his frosted figure. It bowed to her like a gentleman and she curtsied back.</p><p>“You look very handsome, Jack.”</p><p>The frosted Jack smiled showing its teeth.</p><p>“I wish I could truly see you now. Now that I know what you look like, it should be easy for my mind to grasp the belief.”</p><p>The frosted Jack’s hand swooped up beside her cheek.</p><p>Then suddenly, at that very same instance, Isabelle caught sight of blue behind the frosted Jack.</p><p>“Jack?” She asked, wide-eyed.</p><p>Jack’s eyes also became wide, but were replaced with a huge smile. The frosted Jack and its hand near Isabelle’s cheek were replaced by the real one as he stepped through it.</p><p>His hand touched her cheek. “Can, can you also hear me?”</p><p>Isabelle smiled and nodded as she brought her hand up to the back of Jack’s and laced her fingers with his.</p><p>Jack’s smile widened as they stood staring at each other to be sure what was happening, really was happening, and that’s when Jack embraced her.</p><p>Isabelle felt his freezing temperature, but she forced herself to deal with it. He was her friend after all and she was happy to finally meet him in person.</p><p>“Now I can tell you what you wanted to know,” His voice was filled with excitement. “The reason I’m—”</p><p>A loud crashing sound of metal on metal interrupted him, and his happiness turned into confusion.</p><p>“Jack?”</p><p>“Isabelle?”</p><p>They had to turn to face each other because as soon as that crash happened, Jack stumbled through Isabelle as she could no longer see him.</p><p>“Isabelle?” Jack tried to take her hand, but it was no use. “No,” he whispered, his eyes tearing. “Please, see me again.”</p><p>“Jack, I don’t understand. Why can’t I see you anymore?”</p><p>“Can you still hear me?”</p><p>She didn’t answer.</p><p>What happened? Why did she suddenly stop seeing him so quickly?</p><p>Jack knew that there was a loud bang that distracted them, but why did her mind stop believing?</p><p>Her mind wasn’t childlike, he knew that already. But he didn’t understand why a disturbance caused her to suddenly not see him.</p><p>“I don’t understand,” Isabelle repeated. “Why is my brain not working to see you?” Then she yelled, “I <em>believe</em> in you, Jack Frost!” Because she remembered seeing movies that told if you believe in something or someone, you’d end up seeing them.</p><p>But it didn’t work.</p><p>“I’m sorry, Jack. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I swear.” Chilled air circled her. Isabelle turned to run back into her home with tears rolling down her cheeks, but Jack stopped her by creating a medium wall of ice.</p><p>Having stopped her in her tracks, Jack recreated the frosted figure of himself.</p><p>She tried to re-envision him as she stared at the new frosted Jack that shared, not only her saddened emotion, but the real Jack’s as well.</p><p>“It’s not working this time. I’m, I’m sorry,” she turned toward the wall of ice and began to push it down.</p><p>Jack watched her in heartache. He didn’t make the wall heavy or all too sturdy, so Isabelle was able to knock it down within twenty seconds.</p><p>Once it was down, she jumped over it and continued to her front door.</p><p>She was disappointed in herself and wanted to be alone, “I’m sorry, Jack. Y-you should go.”</p><p>Jack watched as she slammed the door behind her. Tears escaped and he wiped them away from his eyes. He glided to her living room window, frosted it, then wrote backwards, <strong><em>I won’t stop trying. Please, don’t give up either</em></strong>.</p><hr/><p>Isabelle heard something being done to her window and walked up to it. She read the words and made a faint smile. She didn’t have confidence nor belief in herself.</p><p>Would she ever be able to see him again?</p><hr/><p>Jack put his right hand on the window creating a handprint.</p><p>He watched as Isabelle laid her hand upon it on the opposite side of the glass.</p><p>He took a deep breath and jumped into the air, making the snow under his feet seemingly wanting to follow.</p><p><em>Don’t give up so easily because I know I won’t,</em> Jack thought to himself as he looked one last time at the window.</p><p>Snow began to lightly fall as his emotions took over.</p><p>Jack put his hood over his head.</p><p>Before flying to the North Pole, Jack flew toward the crash and saw that a silver sports car backed up from its driveway and smacked into a green Volkswagen Beetle driving passed it.</p><p>There were no injuries, but the two drivers were on their cell phones, and the Beetle was loaded onto a tow truck.</p><p>Sure, Jack was glad no one was hurt, but at the same time, he blamed them for Isabelle not being able to see him still.</p><p>With the hook end of his staff, he formed a snowball in his hand and threw it at the silver car in annoyance.</p><p>The driver, standing near while on his phone, heard it hit his back windshield with surprise. He then scanned to see the culprit. He already had this crash and being late for work to deal with, he didn’t need to add yelling at an adolescence to it.</p><hr/><p>Jack made it to the Pole and came in through his room’s opened window.</p><p>He was in no mood to talk to anyone, but he obviously had to let North know he was back.</p><p>He saw North walking around on the second level and decided to throw a snowball at him instead of casually walking up to North, who would instantly strike up a conversation like he always did when someone was next to him.</p><p>“I’m back, North!” Jack yelled out to him before heading back to his room and locking the door.</p><p>North paused in shock, but recovered quickly once he heard Jack’s voice. “Where have you be—?" He realized, once he turned to interrogate him, that Jack was nowhere in sight.</p><p>North’s features turned into a look of confusion.</p><p><em>I should go check on him</em>, he thought to himself.</p><hr/><p>Jack laid on his bed, facing the wall. His bed had a sheet to protect the mattress and a pillow, but no covers.</p><p>There was a knock on the door, Jack grunted. “I’m not in the mood!”</p><p>“It is I, Jack,” North announced.</p><p>“I said, I’m not in the mood,” Jack answered, not moving from his spot.</p><p>There was a clicking sound which made Jack turn in exasperation. The lock unlocked itself. Jack forgot that these locks were keyless and locked and unlocked by magic. Maybe he should secretly replace his lock with one that has to have a key?</p><p>The door flung open, and North walked in. “Jack, what seems to be the trouble?”</p><p>“I want to be alone, North,” Jack said, facing back toward the wall.</p><p>North walked closer, “You did not say <em>need</em>.”</p><p>“Okay,” Jack said with irritation in his voice, “I <em>need </em>to be alone.”</p><p>“Talking about it will make it better,” North continued.</p><p>“No it won’t.” Jack pulled his hood closer to his face.</p><p>“Did something happen to you and your believers?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Trying to get more children to believe in you and you have failed?”</p><p>Jack didn’t answer, for the <em>believe</em> and <em>failed</em> parts were true.</p><p>North took the silence as a yes. “Ah! You are having trouble gaining more believers!”</p><p>He saw Jack slump more and softened his voice. “Jack, there will always be more children to increase your believers.”</p><p>“That’s not it, North,” Jack answered, trying to hide the shakiness in his voice.</p><p>“Then what is it?”</p><p>“I don’t want to talk about it.” He shut his eyes, forcing the tears not to form. “Just, just leave me alone.”</p><p>“Jack—”</p><p>“Leave me alone,” Jack interrupted. “Please leave.”</p><p>“All right,” North gave in. “My ears are always opened for whenever you are ready to talk.”</p><p>North left the room and closed the door behind him.</p><p>Without having to look at the door, Jack aimed his crook to ice the entire entrance so there would be no other interruptions.</p><p>Jack let it all out as he sobbed, his tears becoming frosted liquid as they ran down his face.</p>
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